2022 NFL Draft: Derek Stingley Jr. Leapfrogs Ikem Ekwonu, Ahmad Gardner as Favorite to Be Selected No. 3 Overall

2022 NFL Draft: Derek Stingley Jr. Leapfrogs Ikem Ekwonu, Ahmad Gardner as Favorite to Be Selected No. 3 Overall article feature image
Credit:

Gus Stark/Collegiate Images/Getty Images. Pictured: LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr.

No. 3 Overall Selection Odds for 2022 NFL Draft

Odds via PointsBet as of Tuesday morning. These odds are unavailable in New York due to state regulations.

PlayerOdds
Derek Stingley Jr.+300
Ikem Ekwonu+400
Ahmad Gardner+400
Travon Walker+550
Evan Neal+600
Kayvon Thibodeaux+800
Aidan Hutchinson+800
Charles Cross+1100
Malik Willis+5000

Although the majority of NFL mock drafts across the internet had pegged NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu as the Houston Texans' selection with the third overall pick, a new betting favorite has emerged this morning.

LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is now the favorite at PointsBet to head to Houston with the No. 3 overall pick.

This pick would make Stingley Jr. just the second cornerback to be selected in the top-three since 1997. The Lions selected Jeff Okudah out of Ohio State with the third overall pick in 2020 and he's looked decent — when he's actually on the field.

The former All-American has played in just 13 games across his first two seasons on account of injury. He missed all but one game in 2021 after rupturing his Achilles in Week 1.

Curiously, Ahmad Gardner had usurped Ekwonu on Tuesday morning as the favorite to be the No. 3 overall selection. Then, hours later, Stingley Jr. jumped Gardner on the betting boards.

Stingley moved from +500 to +300 at around noon ET on Tuesday. In a corresponding move, Gardner went from a +275 favorite to a +400 underdog.

Ekwonu had been the betting favorite to head to Houston for the past month or so.

Travon Walker has shot up the betting boards since prognosticators began speculating on Monday that he'd be selected over Aidan Hutchinson, who had been the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 overall. Now, Walker is -225 at PointsBet to go first.

The Georgia edge rusher is the fourth-best, +550 favorite to drop down to No. 3 and be selected by the Texans.

About the Author
Avery Yang is a General Editor at The Action Network and a recent graduate from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has written for the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, (the old) Deadspin, MLB.com and others.

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